Lead, Grow, Thrive: Advancing Your Career & Practice

WED-C07: The PM Playbook: Leadership Across Scale and Sector

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

1:15 PM - 2:30 PM PT

1.50 PDH, LA CES/non-HSW

Speaker(s)

Sarah Evans, ASLA, PLA (she/her/hers)

Midwest Landscape Architecture Group Leader
V3 Companies
Indianapolis, Indiana
Adrian L. Smith, FASLA (he/him/his)

Team Leader, Capital Projects Division
City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation
Flushing, New York
Clare Johnson, ASLA (she/her/hers)

Project Manager
Site Design Group, ltd.
Chicago, Illinois

Project management leadership is shaped by context—public accountability, funding systems, regulatory pressures, and organizational structure. Through perspectives from public agency, interdisciplinary, and single-discipline practice, this session examines how PMs navigate different systems of decision-making and responsibility—offering practical insight, tips, and direction for leading effectively across sectors.

Learning Outcomes:

Recognize how project management challenges are addressed differently across public and private practice at varying scales.
Apply perspective-based leadership advice to navigate authority, accountability, and complexity within your own organization.
Adjust project management strategies based on your firm’s structure, resources, and culture.
Leverage project management as a platform for leadership influence, professional resilience, and healthier team culture across practice environments.